Atem Studio Converter / 2ME Talkback

Hi all..
So I have the problem with the Atem 2me & Atem Studio Converter.

I want to use the talkback built into the system and I have cameras connected by a range of methods.
Let me list the setup and connectivity.

Connected via copper SDI, though a BMD 40x40 SDI router with both SDI send and return:
1x BMD Studio camera
5x BMD Micro Studio camera

Connected via Fibre, BMD Camera Converter <-> BMD Atem Studio Converter <-> BMD 40x40 SDI Router
5x Sony PXW-X70

Trouble is we cannot get comms flowing to all these cameras. It seems that the Atem Studio Converter strips the talkback to/from the 2ME and replaces with it's own. So best result is that the copper and fibre systems are isolated.

Now 2nd to that issue is that the analog audio input on the front panel of the Studio Converter is geared up for a direct mic input with no gain control / pad / phantom power. In fact we connected it to our x32 and it was so noisy and hot we had to use a transformer to isolate it and add a 40db pad. So, then we tried to use the AES3 microphone audio input. Did absolutely nothing. We tried the speaker input and that works. Except it fires the audio back out the front panel speaker. So that creates feedback and we have to turn the speaker down. Then we can't hear the camera operators. Not to mention that the speaker level is not retained so every time you turn on you have to turn the speaker down.

Now is there anything than can be done about any of these issues? Is my Studio converter's AES3 microphone input faulty? Can BMD make a software patch that will allow a option to flow the comms in/out the SDI to tap into the 2ME?

Any help would be great, Cheers.

I believe you can use a optical fiber mini converter on the switcher side of the fiber. This will allow connections to and from the atem that will still pass the ch 15-16 audio and the control signals.

[Gary Adams]

Hello Matt. I can try to clear up some things. The Studio Talkback Converter and the 2ME Talkback system are not compatible with each other as only one or the other can be used for Talkback. Not both. The AES I/O are designed for ganging multiple talkback converters as defined in the manual. It is not really valid to connect a microphone and/or speaker to those connections. But if you do, you still need to loop the other unused ones together as outlined in the manual for ganging multiple units. These AES connections could be used to integrate with a 3rd party intercom using a 4 wire interface along with the appropriate D/A and A/D. The Talkback Conveter was designed to use civilian aviation headsets only. The microphone jack is designed for an Electret microphone and not trivial to use anything else.

Regards, Gary

Hi Gary, thanks for your input.

I wish that I had understood that when purchasing the unit. As Im sure you can understand, buying what was at the time the flagship ATEM Vision Switcher and 'ATEM Studio Converter' as a consumer I would have thought these would work together. The name says it's built for the ATEM.

So I guess the following questions remain:
Is the hardware capable of being firmware updated to have a ATEM Talkback mode?
If it is possible, would BMD be interested in doing this?

Failing a yes answer on those two questions, can you assist me with a reason why the microphone AES3 input doesn't seem to work. I understand they are for stacking the units, however It seems that the function should be simple. the ports cascade the microphone input & speaker outputs respectively. This is why when I input audio into the speaker port it comes out the front panel speaker & all the connected camera converters. The unit treats the input as if it's a camera operator from another ATEM Studio Converter speaking. One would expect that an input on the microphone port would be treated as a microphone input on another ATEM Studio Converter, and be sent exclusively to the fibre ports. The real result is no audio appears anywhere in this situation.

If we can resolve this, I can then mix the audio from ATEM switcher & the converter successfully.

Thanks again.

Gary when do we finally get the option to disable the stripping of the audiochannels by the talkback converter.. Because this will also prevent the Atem TVS HD / HD Pro / 4K to interface by fiber to the talkback converter..

[Gary Adams]

Hello Daniel. I don't know when or if this could be done, but it is true that the Talkback Converters are also not compatible with the new TVS line of ATEMS. All of those models include Talkback and could be adapted to fiber on the SDI inputs using a Fiber Converter at the switcher end.

Regards, Gary